Abstract
The chapters in this volume have been written against the background of the growth of English as a global language. Nine of the fifteen contributors, representing Albania, Algeria, Argentina, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Brazil, Ghana, Japan, and Thailand, point out that English is being taught in these countries because globalisation has made it the language of economic and social access and participation. Although the role of English in people’s actual access to economic and social opportunities is highly problematic (see Coleman, 2011), its status as an international language (EIL), or global lingua franca (ELF), is well established. As such, the importance of English has resulted in policy decisions in countries around the world such as: lowering the age of compulsory English in schools; the provision of school subjects in English; and the required use of materials that may not match the teacher’s background. These policies have created huge challenges to their implementation from the standpoint of materials development, of teaching and teacher preparation, of learner-readiness, and of available resources, particularly technology. These challenges are a cause for concern, since difficulties in implementing the policies undermine the teaching workforce and simply do not produce the desired results. As Wedell puts it,
national policy makers seem generally to have given insufficient thought to existing socio-economic and educational/cultural realities, when considering hoped-for curriculum outcomes. Teachers have thus often failed to enable learners to achieve them. (2008: 635)
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Amin, N. and Kubota, R. (2004). Native speaker discourses: power and resistance in postcolonial teaching of English to speakers of other languages. In Ninnes, P. and Mehta, S. (eds), Reimagining Comparative Education: Postfoundational Ideas and Applications for Critical Times. New York: Routledge, pp. 107–128.
Bandura, A. (1997). Self-Efficacy: The Exercise of Control. New York: Worth Publishers.
Butler, Y. G. (2005). Comparative perspectives towards communicative activities among elementary school teachers in South Korea, Japan and Taiwan. Language Teaching Research, 9(4): 423–446.
Chien, Y. H. (2012). Life in the 21st Century: A Study of Pre-service Teachers’ Uses of Technology and English. Unpublished Doctoral Dissertation: University of Michigan.
Coleman, H. (ed.) (2011). Dreams and Realities: Developing Countries and the English Language. London: British Council.
Jenkins, J. (2003) World Englishes. London: Routledge.
Li, D. F. (1998). ‘It’s always more difficult than you plan and imagine’: Teachers’ perceived difficulties in introducing the communicative approach in South Korea. TESOL Quarterly, 32(4): 677–703.
Modiano, M. (2009). EIL, Native-speakerism and the failure of European ELT. In Sharifian, F. (ed.), English As an International Language. Bristol: Multilingual Matters, pp. 58–80.
Seargeant, P. and Erling, E. J. (2011) The discourse of ‘English as a language for international development: policy assumptions and practical challenges’. In Coleman, H. (ed.), Dreams and Realities: Developing Countries and the English Language. London: British Council, pp. 248–268.
Sharifian, F. (2009). Cultural conceptualizations in English as an International Language. In Sharifian, F. (ed.), English As an International Language. Bristol: Multilingual Matters, pp. 242–253.
Wedell, M. (2008). Developing a capacity to make ‘English for Everyone’ worthwhile: reconsidering outcomes and how to start achieving them. International Journal of Educational Development, 28: 628–639.
Ur, P. (2010). English As a Lingua Franca: A Teacher’s Perspective. Cadernos de Letras (UFRJ) 27. Available at http://www.letras.ufrj.br/anglo_germanicas/cadernos/numeros/122010/textos/c1301220100penny.pdf [Accessed 25/5/13].
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Copyright information
© 2014 Kathleen Graves and Sue Garton
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Graves, K., Garton, S. (2014). Materials in ELT: Looking Ahead. In: Garton, S., Graves, K. (eds) International Perspectives on Materials in ELT. International Perspectives on English Language Teaching. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137023315_16
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137023315_16
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
Print ISBN: 978-1-137-02330-8
Online ISBN: 978-1-137-02331-5
eBook Packages: Palgrave Language & Linguistics CollectionEducation (R0)